Radio frequency communication devices and methods

ABSTRACT

One embodiment relates to a circuit for efficient wireless communication. The circuit includes a communication port adapted to be coupled to an antenna feed. Multiple communication paths stem from the communication port, where different communication paths are associated with different frequency bands. Multiple phase shift selection circuits are respectively associated with the multiple communication paths. The phase shift selection circuits have different respective impedances relative to the communication port and the respective impedances vary for the different frequency bands. Other methods and systems are also disclosed.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems related to radio frequency (RF) communication devices.

BACKGROUND

In emerging markets throughout the world, such as China and India, the rising middle and low-to middle classes are demanding affordable wireless services. This requires wireless service providers to provide these customers with affordable access service as well as affordable handsets.

To deliver low cost handsets, engineers are continuously looking for ways to modify existing mobile phone architectures to achieve a lower cost design without giving up quality or desirable features.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of one or more embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview, nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure. Rather, the primary purpose of the summary is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

One embodiment relates to a circuit for efficient wireless communication. The circuit includes a communication port adapted to be coupled to an antenna feed. Multiple communication paths stem from the communication port, where different communication paths are associated with different frequency bands. Multiple phase shift selection circuits are respectively associated with the multiple communication paths. The phase shift selection circuits have different respective impedances relative to the communication port and the respective impedances vary for the different frequency bands.

The following description and annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects and implementations. These are indicative of only a few of the various ways in which the principles of the disclosure may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a transceiver portion of wireless communication device that includes an antenna switch module (ASM);

FIG. 2 shows a transceiver portion of a wireless communication device;

FIG. 3-4 show embodiments of phase shift selection circuits;

FIGS. 5-6 show Smith charts illustrating one manner in which phase shift selection circuits can be designed;

FIG. 7 shows a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with one embodiment; and

FIG. 8 shows a flow chart illustrating another method in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more implementations will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. It will be appreciated that nothing in this specification is admitted as prior art.

Antenna switch modules (ASMs) are used in analog front-ends to perform transmit and receive switching in handsets. Each ASM costs up to $5 per piece, depending on the quantity purchased. Therefore, ASMs add substantially to the cost of the chip set implementing the wireless communication standards. Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to analog front end architectures that eliminate the need for an ASM, thereby facilitating chip sets with cost-points that are in line for emerging markets, disposable phones, etc.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a GSM/DCS dual band cellular phone that includes a front-end 100 with an ASM 102. For communication over a GSM frequency band 101, the phone transmits over transmit frequency channels TX1 (˜880-915 MHz) and receives over reception frequency channels RX1 (˜925-960 MHz). For communication over the DCS band 103, the phone transmits over transmit frequency channels TX2 (˜1710-1785 MHz) and receives over reception frequency channels RX2 (˜1805-1880 MHz).

To transmit and receive data over these channels, the ASM 102 includes a diplexer 106 that implements frequency domain multiplexing. This diplexer 106 includes two ports (e.g., 108 and 110) that are multiplexed onto a single communication port (e.g., 112), which is coupled to the base of a single feed antenna 104. A lowpass filter 114 connects ports 108 and 112 and high pass filter 116 connects ports 110 and 112. Ideally, all the signal power on ports 108 and 110 is transferred to the communication port 112 (and vice versa), and the separation of the signals on 108 and 110 is complete (e.g., no power of 108 is transferred to 110 via 112). In the real world, however, some power will be lost, and some signal power will leak to the wrong port.

To ensure adequate isolation between the transmit channels and receive channels within a given band (e.g., TX1 and RX1), the ASM 102 also includes a pair of switches 118, 120. During communication, each switch is set to one of two positions. In this manner, for a given band each switch selectively passes either transmit frequency channels or receive frequency channels, while isolating the unselected frequency channels. For example, for the GSM band 101, if the switch 118 passes TX1, then RX1 will be blocked. In this manner, the switches 118, 120 provide sufficient isolation between the closely spaced transmit and receive frequency channels within a band.

While this front end 100 is sufficient for some applications, the expense associated with the ASM 102 makes it unrealistic for low cost cell phone architectures. In addition to cost concerns, the ASM 102 also is responsible for unavoidable insertion loss, which may cause degrade RF performance (e.g., decrease receive sensitivity and transmit power). Therefore, as now set forth in greater detail, the inventors have fashioned advantageous front-end architectures that eliminate the need for an ASM.

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a dual band wireless communication device 200 having a dual-feed high isolation antenna architecture. To eliminate the need for an ASM, the wireless communication device 200 includes communication phase shift select circuits (e.g., 222, 224, 230, 232) that have impedances that vary as a function of communication frequency. Thus, these phase shift select circuits act as switches in some respects, but are much more affordable to implement. Although the following discussion will be set forth with reference to transmission and reception elements, it will be appreciated that communication elements could function as transmission or reception elements. Some structural features will be set forth over the next several paragraphs, after which a more detailed functional description will be set forth.

The wireless communication device 200 includes a transceiver 202 having a transmission port 204 and a reception port 206. The transmission port 204 is connected to a transmission feed 208 of a high isolation dual feed antenna 212, while the reception port 206 is coupled to a reception feed 210 of the dual feed antenna 212. In one embodiment, the dual feed antenna 212 could be a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA).

On the transmit-side, a first transmission path 214 and a second transmission path 216 stem from the transmission port 204. The first and second transmission paths 214, 216 include first and second power amplifiers 218, 220 and first and second transmission phase shift selection circuits 222, 224, respectively.

On the receive-side, a first reception path 226 and a second reception path 228 stem from the reception port 206. The first and second reception paths 226, 228 include first and second reception phase shift selection circuits 230, 232 and first and second low noise amplifiers 234, 236, respectively.

Although the illustrated embodiment shows two transmission paths 214, 216 and two reception paths 226, 228, in other embodiments more than two transmission paths could stem from the transmission port 204 and more than two reception paths could stem from the reception port 206. For example, in one embodiment of a quad-band phone, four transmission paths could stem from the transmission port 204, and four reception paths could stem from the reception port 206.

During communication, signals can be concurrently transmitted and received over the dual feed antenna 212. The transmitted signal RF_(T), which is provided to the dual feed antenna 212 from the transmission port 204, can include frequency components falling within one of two transmission frequency bands. The first transmission path 214 provides a transmission signal over a first transmission frequency band, while the second transmission path 216 provides a transmission signal on a second transmission frequency band. The received signal RF_(R), which is provided to the reception port 206 from the dual feed antenna 212, can include practically any frequency component detected by the dual feed antenna 212. Therefore, the first reception path 226 separates out signal components within a first reception frequency band, while the second reception path 228 separates out signal components within a second reception frequency band.

For purposes of clarity, an example is now set forth in the context of a GSM/DCS dual band phone. If the wireless communication device 200 desires to transmit over a first transmission frequency band (e.g., GSM band), a signal generator 237 generates an outgoing signal RF_(O1) on the first transmission path 214. This outgoing signal RF_(O1) is generated within the first transmission frequency band (e.g., 880-915 MHz). The first power amplifier 218 then amplifies or modulates the signal RF_(O1), thereby generating an amplified signal RF_(A1) that is passed to the first transmission phase shift selection circuit 222.

The first transmission phase shift selection circuit 222 is structured to represent an approximately matched impedance (e.g., 50 ohms) in the first transmission frequency band. Consequently, RF_(A1) passes through the first transmission phase shift selection circuit 222 with limited or no attenuation at the first band while the high frequency components generated by the power amplifier 218 have been suppressed by the phase shift selection circuit 222. However, the second transmission phase shift selection circuit 224 is structured to represent a high or infinite impedance for the first transmission frequency band. Consequently, although RF_(A1) passes through the first transmission phase shift selection circuit 222, it will not leak through the second transmission phase shift selection circuit 224 and a vast majority of the power in RF_(A1) will be successfully transmitted to the dual feed antenna 212.

Conversely, if the communication device transmits over a second transmission frequency band (e.g., DCS band), the signal generator 237 generates an outgoing signal RF_(O2) on the second transmission path 216. This outgoing signal RF_(O2) is generated within the second transmission frequency band (e.g., 1710-1785 MHz). The second power amplifier 220 then amplifies or modulates the signal RF_(O2), thereby generating an amplified signal RF_(A2) that is passed to the second transmission phase shift selection circuit 224.

For the second transmission frequency band, the second transmission phase shift selection circuit 224 is structured to represent a matched impedance (e.g., 50 ohms). Consequently, although RF_(A2) passes through the second transmission phase shift selection circuit 224, it will not leak through the first transmission phase shift selection circuit 222. Consequently, a vast majority of the power in RF_(A2) will be successfully transmitted to the dual feed antenna 212. In this way, the two transmission channels remain isolated from one another without the use of an ASM, thereby saving costs and improving functionality.

During reception on the receive side, the wireless communication device receives a received signal RF_(R). This reception signal RF_(R) often includes desired frequency components and undesired frequency components. To separate out the desired frequency components, the first and second reception phase shift selection circuits 230, 232, respectively, have different impedances that vary as a function of frequency. For example, the first reception phase shift selection circuit 230 is structured to represent an approximately matched impedance (e.g., 50 ohms) at a first desired reception frequency, and the second reception phase shift selection circuit 232 is structured to represent a high or infinite impedance at the first reception frequency. Consequently, only frequency components RF_(F1) pass through the first reception phase shift selection circuit 230 (i.e., frequency components RF_(F2) will be blocked from RF_(F1)). Similarly, only frequency components RF_(F2) pass through the second reception phase shift selection circuit 232 (i.e., frequency components RF_(F1) will be blocked from RF_(F2)).

After the frequency components have been separated from the received signal R_(FR) in this manner, the first and second low noise amplifiers 234, 236 generate incoming signals RF_(I1), RF_(I2), respectively. The demodulator and signal analyzer 238 can then demodulate and analyze the incoming signals RF_(I1), RF_(I2) so the received data can be presented via a user interface of the wireless device.

As shown in FIGS. 3-4, a communication phase shift selection circuit can comprise a passive circuit. These passive circuits that have different respective impedances that vary as a function of communication frequency. In FIG. 3's embodiment, the first transmission phase shift selection circuit 222 includes a low pass filter 302 and a phase shift matching filter 304. Similarly, the second transmission phase shift selection circuit 224 includes a low pass filter 306 and a phase shift matching filter 308. These low pass filters 302, 306 are used primarily for suppressing high frequency components generated by the power amplifier. The low pass filters 302, 306 work in conjunction with the phase shift matching filters 304, 308 to allow the desired transmission frequencies to pass, while blocking unwanted frequencies as previously discussed. In some embodiments, the phase shift matching filters 304, 308 can comprise microstrip lines that have different lengths or geometries on each path.

In FIG. 4, one can see an embodiment where the first reception phase shift selection circuit 230 includes a phase shift matching filter 402 and a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter 404. Similarly, the second reception phase shift selection circuit 232 includes a phase shift matching filter 406 and a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter 408. These phase shift matching filters 402, 406 and SAW filters 404, 408 are tuned to allow the desired reception frequencies to pass, while blocking unwanted frequencies as previously discussed. Again, in some embodiments, the phase shift matching filters 402, 406 can comprise microstrip lines that have different lengths or geometries on each path. Thus, the combination of SAW filters and microstrip lines can function as a diplexer in the receiver path.

In some embodiments, the power supply capacity of each SAW filter 404, 408 is about 15 dBm whereas a transmit power of about 35 dBm can be presented at the antenna transmit feed 208. As a result, about 20 dB of isolation between the transmission feed and reception feed may be desirable. This will prevent damage to the SAW filters and will prevent performance degradation due to too much power at the LNA input port.

FIGS. 5-6 show more detailed embodiments of Smith charts illustrating one manner in which the matching can be accomplished on the receive-side. More specifically, FIG. 5 shows functionality of the first reception phase selection circuit 230 for different frequencies. At 502, which relates to 900 MHz received signals, the S parameter of the GSM900 SAW filter 404 approximates a closed switch and has a matched impedance of approximately 50 ohms (little or no attenuation). For signals received at 1800 MHz, the GSM900 SAW filter alone 504 still represents a near zero impedance, so the microstrip line 402 is included to provide a phase shift 506. This phase shift causes a significantly increased impedance for the first reception phase shift selection circuit 230 at 1800 MHz (508). In this way, the first reception phase shift selection circuit 230 allows low GSM frequencies to pass, and at the same time blocks DCS frequencies.

FIG. 6 shows the S parameter of the second phase shift selection circuit 232 for different frequencies. At 602, which relates to 1800 MHz received signals, the DCS SAW filter 408 approximates a closed switch having a matched impedance of approximately 50 ohms. At 900 MHz, however, the microstrip line 406 provides phase shifting 604 so the second phase shift selection circuit 232 will represent an infinite or very high impedance 606.

Now that some examples of systems have been discussed, reference is made to FIG. 7-8, which show methods 700, 800. FIG. 7 shows a method 700 for transmitting a wireless signal while FIG. 8 shows a method 800 for receiving a wireless signal. These methods 700, 800 may be carried out simultaneously with one another. While these methods are illustrated and described below as a series of acts or events, the present disclosure is not limited by the illustrated ordering of such acts or events. For example, some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events apart from those illustrated and/or described herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts are required. Further, one or more of the acts depicted herein may be carried out in one or more separate acts or phases.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the method 700 starts at 702 where an outgoing signal is generated. The outgoing signal (RF_(O1), RF_(O2), . . . , or RF_(ON)) is generated at a transmission frequency (f_(T1), f_(T2), . . . , f_(TN), respectively).

At 704, the outgoing signal is provided along one of N of transmission paths, where each transmission path is reserved for a different transmission frequency.

At 706, the outgoing signal (RF_(O1), RF_(O2), . . . , or RF_(ON)) is amplified or modulated to generate an amplified signal (RF_(A1), RF_(A2), . . . , or RF_(AN)).

At 708, the amplified signal is filtered and phase shifted to generate a transmission signal (R_(FT)). To provide sufficient isolation between the N transmission paths, each transmission path provides a unique combination of filtering and phase shifting. The combination of filtering and phase shifting is selected based on the transmission frequency associated with the particular transmission path used. In this way, each transmission path will allow one transmission frequency band to pass while blocking the other transmission frequency bands, much like a switch. At 710, after signal processing is complete, the transmission signal is transmitted over the wireless antenna.

Turning now to FIG. 8, one can see a method for efficiently receiving a signal. At 802, a reception signal is received over an antenna. The reception signal can include desired frequency components and undesired frequency components.

At 804, the reception signal is provided to different reception paths that stem from the antenna.

At 806, different desired frequency components are isolated along the respective different reception paths. This is achieved by phase shifting and filtering the reception signal by different respective amounts for the different reception paths.

At 808, the isolated signals are amplified to generate respective incoming signals. Each incoming signal has a different desired frequency component.

At 810, the incoming signals are demodulated and analyzed. After analysis, the signals can be presented via a user interface. For example, the user interface could include a speaker or a visual display, among others.

Although several implementations have been illustrated and described, alterations and/or modifications may be made to the illustrated examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, although some embodiments describe a wireless communication device as a cellular phone, in other embodiments the wireless communication device could be another type of communication device, including but not limited to: a personal digital assistant, a pager, a walkie-talkie, a music device, a laptop, etc.

Some methods and corresponding features of the present disclosure can be performed by hardware modules, software routines, or a combination of hardware and software. To the extent that software is employed, for example by a baseband processor or other processor associated with the radar system, the software may be provided via a “computer readable medium”, which includes any medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor. Such a computer readable medium may take numerous forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical disks (such as CDs, DVDs, etc.) or magnetic disks (such as floppy disks, tapes, etc.). Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as ferroelectric memory, SRAM, or DRAM. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, fiber optics, etc. that could deliver the instructions over a network or between communication devices. Transmission media can also include electromagnetic waves, such as a voltage wave, light wave, or radio wave.

In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components or structures (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations. In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising”. 

1. A circuit for efficient wireless communication, comprising: a communication port adapted to be coupled to an antenna feed; multiple communication paths stemming from the communication port, where different communication paths are associated with different frequency bands; multiple phase shift selection circuits respectively associated with the multiple communication paths, where the phase shift selection circuits provide different respective impedances relative to the communication port and the respective impedances vary for the different frequency bands.
 2. The circuit of claim 1, where a phase shift selection circuit is a passive circuit.
 3. The circuit of claim 1, where a phase shift selection circuit of a communication path is adapted to provide an approximately matched impedance for a frequency band associated with the communication path and is further adapted to provide an unmatched impedance for other frequency bands associated with other communication paths.
 4. The circuit of claim 1, where a phase shift selection circuit of a communication path comprises: a filter element adapted to pass a frequency band associated with the communication path.
 5. The circuit of claim 4, where the phase shift selection circuit further comprises: a microstrip line between the communication port and the filter element.
 6. A radio frequency (RF) communication device, comprising: an antenna adapted to be coupled to a transmission port; multiple transmission paths stemming from the transmission port, where different transmission paths are associated with different transmission frequency bands; multiple transmission phase shift selection circuits respectively associated with the multiple transmission paths where the transmission phase shift selection circuits provide different respective impedances relative to the transmission port for the different transmission frequency bands.
 7. The RF communication device of claim 6, where a transmission phase shift selection circuit of a transmission path comprises: a transmission filter adapted to pass a transmission frequency band associated with the transmission path.
 8. The RF communication device of claim 7, where the transmission phase shift selection circuit further comprises: a microstrip line between the transmission filter and the transmission port.
 9. The RF communication device of claim 7, further comprising: multiple power amplifiers respectively associated with the multiple transmission paths where a power amplifier is adapted to provide an amplified signal to the transmission filter.
 10. The RF communication device of claim 6, where the antenna is further adapted to be coupled to a reception port, and further comprising: multiple reception paths stemming from the reception port, where different reception paths are associated with different reception frequency bands; multiple reception phase shift selection circuits respectively associated with the multiple reception paths where the reception phase shift selection circuits provide different respective impedances relative to the reception port for the different reception frequency bands.
 11. The RF communication device of claim 10, where a reception phase shift selection circuit of a reception path comprises: a reception filter adapted to pass a reception frequency band associated with the reception path; and a microstrip line between the reception filter and the reception port.
 12. The RF communication device of claim 11, where the reception filter comprises a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter.
 13. The RF communication device of claim 6, where the antenna comprises a planar inverted F antenna.
 14. A method for efficiently processing a reception signal, comprising: receiving the reception signal over an antenna, where the reception signal has desired frequency components and undesired frequency components; providing the reception signal to different reception paths stemming from the antenna; isolating different desired frequency components along the respective different reception paths by phase shifting and filtering the reception signal by different respective amounts for the different reception paths.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: amplifying the desired frequency components and providing phase-shifting for the undesired frequency components to block the undesired frequency components.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: demodulating and analyzing the respective incoming signals and presenting the analyzed incoming signals via a user interface.
 17. The method of claim 13, further comprising: generating an outgoing signal having a transmission frequency, where the outgoing signal is transmitted along one of a number of transmission paths that is associated with the transmission frequency; amplifying the outgoing signal to generate an amplified signal; generating a transmission signal by filtering and phase shifting the amplified signal; and transmitting the transmission signal over the antenna.
 18. The method of claim 17, where at least about 20 dB of isolation separates a transmission path from a reception path.
 19. A method for efficiently transmitting a transmission signal, comprising: generating an outgoing signal having a transmission frequency, where the outgoing signal is transmitted along one of a number of transmission paths that is associated with the transmission frequency; amplifying the outgoing signal to generate an amplified signal; generating a transmission signal by filtering and phase shifting the amplified signal while isolating the transmission paths from one another;
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the transmission signal over an antenna.
 21. The method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving a reception signal over an antenna, where the reception signal has desired frequency components and undesired frequency components; providing the reception signal to different reception paths stemming from the antenna; isolating different desired frequency components along the respective different reception paths by phase shifting and filtering the reception signal by different respective amounts for the different reception paths.
 22. A radio frequency (RF) communication device, comprising: means for generating outgoing signals at different transmission frequency bands; means for filtering and phase shifting the outgoing signals to produce a transmitted signal; and means for transmitting the transmitted signal.
 23. The RF communication device of claim 22, further comprising: means for receiving a reception signal that includes desired frequency components and undesired frequency components; means for filtering and phase shifting the reception signal to produce an incoming signal that includes only the desired frequency components; and means for processing the incoming signal. 